About This Bridge

This bridge is commonly known as the Michigan Avenue Bridge,
but officially renamed the DuSable Bridge in October 2010, to honor Jean
Baptiste Pointe DuSable. DuSable was the first non-native settler in Chicago.

Connecting the downtown Loop to the Magnificent Mile, this is essentially the "Main Street Bridge" of Chicago,
since it carries a busy roadway including as many as 30,000 pedestrians daily, and has been decorated to give it the feel of a
gateway bridge. It is the most well-known of the Chicago bascule bridges. The
composition of the trusses are comparable to other bridges in
the city, except that this bridge is one of the uncommon common double-deck bridges
in the city. The
decorations such as the bridge-tender towers on this bridge, and the plaques on
the bridge also set this aside from other Chicago bridges. The city has furthered
this bridge's unique appearance by flying various flags on
the bridge as well.

Most recently, the city of Chicago demonstrated not only their
commitment to maintain this landmark historic bridge, but to restore and
increase the historic integrity and beauty of the bridge in a unique restoration
project executed in 2009. This project actually removed the modern and
relatively mundane pedestrian railings on the bridge and placed replicas of the
original ornate railings that were present when the bridge was built and had
been replaced some years ago. The project has dramatically increased the
historic appearance and beauty of the bridge. The project is significant because
often railings are ignored during bridge preservation projects. However, the
truth is railings are often play a significant role in the aesthetic quality of
a historic bridge. Chicago has recognized this and set an example of other
owners of historic bridges to follow.

The
southwest bridgetender house of this bridge contains the
McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River
Museum.
With an entry fee of only four dollars, this small museum offers a history of
the bridge and the Chicago River, but perhaps one of the most exciting parts of
the museum is that they have opened up a viewing area to the public where you
can view the motors, breaks, trunnion, and other mechanical parts of the movable
bridge that are normally hidden and restricted from the view of the public. Some
of the original electrical equipment that was saved from a previous renovation
project is on display here as well.

From a distance this bridge looks square like the
Wells Street Bridge, but if you walk on the
lower sidewalk, you will note the bottom chord is arched a bit, and rises above
the sidewalk at the middle of the span. Its truss design is more like
Ohio Street.

The Michigan Avenue Bridge was constructed as two parallel bridges,
and could actually be lifted independently of each other. If you are on the lower level
or on the Chicago Riverwalk which runs under the bridge, you can see how there
are two trusses at the center of the bridge, and can thus visualize how the
bridge is really two bridges side by side.

An unusual random trivia for this bridge is that
in the 1920s, the city installed rubber tile pavement as an experimental surface
type.

Both the substructure and superstructure for this bridge was
built by the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company. This is somewhat unusual,
since a lot of Chicago's bascule bridges had separate contractors for
superstructure, substructure, and electrical work. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock
was a frequent contractor for the substructures of bascule bridges in Chicago.
This is an unusual case where the company also erected the superstructure.
Formed in 1890 as Lydon and Drews Company, the company changed its name to Great
Lakes Dredge and Dock Company in 1905. A local advertisement from that period
shows that by that time the company had acquired several other companies. The
company survives today and does work around the world according to the company's
website.

Conceived as part of Daniel Burnham's
1909 Plan of Chicago, the bridge and upper-level Wacker Drive were
designed to improve transportation and to enhance Chicago's riverfront.
The completion of the bridge, followed by the Wacker Drive esplanade
(1926) and the monumental sculptures (1928), provided an impressive
gateway to North Michigan Avenue and led to its development as one of
the city's premier thoroughfares.

Architect Information

Raised and educated in Chicago, Daniel Hudson
Burnham (1846-1912) gained his early architectural experience with
William Le Baron Jenney, the so-called "father of the skyscraper." In
1873, Burnham formed a partnership with John Wellborn Root (1850-1891)
that produced such commissions as the Kent House, Masonic Temple
(demolished), Monadnock Building, Reliance, Rookery, St. Gabriel's
Church, and the Union Stock Yard Gate.

Following Root's death in
1891, the firm became known as D.H. Burnham and Co. Its design output
continued to be prodigious, including department stores (Marshall
Field's), office buildings (People's Gas and the Railway Exchange, at
122 and 224 S. Michigan, respectively), and public buildings (e.g., park
fieldhouses, railroad stations, city halls) all across the country.

However, Burnham gained an even greater reputation for his influence
as a city planner. He supervised the laying out and construction of the
1893 World's Columbian Exposition and, in 1909, Burnham and his
assistant Edward H. Bennett (Michigan Avenue Bridge) prepared The Plan
for Chicago, which is considered the nation's first example of a
comprehensive planning document. Burnham also worked on other city
plans, including ones for Cleveland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C.,
and Manila in the Phillipines.

Numerous important architects
worked for Burnham's firm, including Peirce Anderson, Charles Atwood
(Museum of Science and Industry), Ernest Graham, and Frederick
Dinkelberg (35 E. Wacker Building, Heyworth Building). Following his
death, the firm continued as Graham, Anderson, Probst and White; its
commissions include the Civic Opera Building, Field Building, Field
Museum, Merchandise Mart, Union Station, and Wrigley Building. Burnham
Park, which is located along Lake Michigan south of the Loop, is named
in honor of the famed architect-planner.

Above: The infamous Rush Street Bridge, the predecessor to
the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Located a short distance west of Michigan Avenue,
Rush Street and its bridge were an extremely busy bottleneck for Chicago. The
extent of this bottleneck can be seen in two of the above photos, where what
could only be described as a horse and buggy traffic jam is visible. Although
the statements validity cannot be verified, one photo caption describes the
bridge as "the most crowded vehicular bridge in the world." What was certainly
true however, was the need for the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

Above: This photo shows an earlier Rush Street swing bridge
that preceded the final Rush Street swing bridge. This earlier bridge, the first at this crossing noted in the Annual Reports of the Department of Public Works, was built in
1856, and was described as an "all iron bridge." As such, this bridge would have
been among the earliest iron bridges built in the United States. The bridge was 211 feet in length. The hand-turned swing bridge was built by contractors Harper and Tweedale for $54, 000. An Annual Report of the Department of Public Works described the bridge as the "First iron bridge of the West." This was the first bridge to move beyond the simple wooden
bridges built previously in Chicago. From this point forward, bridges tended to be built of either metal or a combination of metal and wood. However, for the next several decades, the bridges built, while an improvement over earlier
bridges, still lacked a detailed structural and traffic analysis and tended to have a relatively limited service life. The 1856 Rush Street Bridge was rebuilt in 1864 by Fox and Howard, destroyed in the fire of 1871, and replaced in 1872 by another iron swing bridge, built
by the Detroit Bridge Company. The bridge was 211 feet in length and 33 feet wide. This bridge was destroyed in a collision with the Schooner Granger on November 22, 1883. In 1884, a third iron swing bridge was built, this time by Rust and
Coolidge, and the bridge was 240 feet long with a width of 59 feet.

Main Plaque

WILLIAM A. MULGAHYCHIEF ENGINEEROF
CONSTRUCTION

GREAT LAKES DREDGEAND DOCK COMPANY
CONTRACTOR FOR THESUBSTRUCTURE ANDSUPERSTRUCTURE OF
BRIDGE AND PLAZAS

JOLLIET, FATHER
MARQUETTE, LA SALLE AND TONTI WILL LIVE IN AMERICAN HISTORY
AS FEARLESS EXPLORERS WHO MADE THEIR WAYTHROUGH THE GREAT
LAKES AND ACROSSTHIS WATERSHED TO THE MISSISSIPPIIN THE
LATE SEVENTEENTH CENTURYAND TYPIFY THE SPIRIT OF BRAVE
ADVENTURE WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN FIRMLY PLANTED IN THE
CHARACTER OF THE MIDDLE WEST.

PRESENTED TO THE CITY BY
WILLIAM WRIGLEY JR.1928

THE PIONEERS

JOHN KINZIE, FUR TRADER,
SETTLED NEARTHIS SPOT IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE NINTEENTH
CENTURY. ONE OF A BAND OF COURAGEOUSPIONEERS, WHO WITH THEIR
LIVES AT STAKE,STRUGGLED THROUGH THE WILDERNESSBREAKING
SOIL FOR THE SEEDS OF A FUTURE CIVILIZATION.

PRESENTED TO THE CITY BY WILLIAM WRIGLEY JR.1928

REGENERATION

THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE, IN
OCTOBER, EIGHTEENHUNDRED AND SEVENTY-ONE, DEVESTATED THE
CITY.FROM ITS ASHES, THE PEOPLE OF CHICAGO CAUSEDA NEW
AND GREATER CITY TO RISE IMBUEDWITH THAT INDOMITABLE SPIRIT
AND ENERGYBY WHICH THEY HAVE EVER BEEN GUIDED.

ERECTED BY THE TRUSTEES OF THEB. F. FERGUSON MONUMENT FUND
1928

DEFENSE

FORT DEARBORN STOOD ALMOST ON
THIS SPOT. AFTER AN HEROIC DEFENSE IN EIGHTEENHUNDRED
AND TWELVE, THE GARRISON TOGETHERWITH WOMEN AND CHILDREN WAS
FORCED TO EVACUATETHE FORT. LED BY CAPTAIN WELLS, THEY
WERE BUTALLY MASSACRED BY THE INDIANS.THEY WILL BE CHERISHED
AS MARTYRS INOUR EARLY HISTORY.

ERECTED BY THE
TRUSTEES OF THEB. F. FERGUSON MONUMENT FUND1928

Above: Scale models of the bridge tender houses were created during the design of this bridge. As is clear from the photos of two models created, the final design of the sculptures ended up being different than those seen on the models.

Below: In 1908, Albert Scherzer proposed the below
"artistic" design for a Michigan Avenue Bridge. He got inspiration for
the design from
Pont Alexandre
III in Paris, France, which had been completed in 1900.

Below: Joseph Strauss proposed the below extravagant design for a Michigan
Avenue Bridge in 1913. The appearance of the bridge appears to be somewhat
inspired by the Tower Bridge in London, England. The bridge was described in
The American City as follows:

"The design illustrated herewith shows a form of movable bridge which has
been proposed by the Strauss Bascule Bridge Company for the span to be built
across the Chicago River at Michigan Avenue, Chicago, connecting the North and
South Side Boulevards. It is of the vertical lift form, having neither cables
nor chains, the counterbalancing being effected through levers which form a part
of the suspension trusses from which the span and the load it carries are hung."

Historic Bridges of Chicago and Cook County

Chicago and Cook County are home to one of the
largest collections of historic bridges in the country, and no other city in
the world has more movable bridges. HistoricBridges.org is proud to offer
the most
extensive coverage of historic Chicago bridges on the Internet.

Chicago / Cook County Bridge News

October 2015 - Patrick T. McBriarty, author of Chicago's River Bridges,
informs HistoricBridges.org that in recognition for the "outstanding and
original reference work that will support future scholarship in the history
of technology", the book was awarded the biennial Eugene S. Ferguson Prize
by the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) at the SHOT Annual
Meeting's awards banquet. See press release. This
is the third award for this book.
Order Now Direct From The Publisher!
or order
on Amazon.

October 2014 - A visit to Chicago revealed that the Van Buren Street Pedestrian Bridge was not demolished, but instead extensively rehabbed. The railings are new,
but replicate the original design. The concrete encasement was removed and not replaced, and instead the exposed riveted steel beams have been painted. The riveted beams look quite nice, and given the condition of the bridge prior to
the project this seems like a good outcome. In other news, the rehabilitation and repainting of the La Salle Street Bridge is ongoing, and the project to extend the
Chicago Riverwalk under additional bridges on the Main Branch is continuing.

September 2014 - Chicago's dubious distinction of offering numerous boat tours that pass under the bridges but offer narration only of the buildings has ended with the start of a Wendella tour that focuses on bridges!
Information is here.

July 29, 2013 - A project study has been initiated for the reconstruction of historic North Lake Shore Drive. This project puts a large number of historic bridges at risk for demolition and replacement. However, it could also be an
opportunity to rehabilitate the bridges. Visit the project website.

April 30, 2013 - Illinois Landmarks has included Chicago's Bascule Bridges as one of their Top 10 Most Endangered Historic Places. View The Official Page.

General Chicago / Cook County Bridge Resources

Chicago's Bridges - By Nathan Holth, author of HistoricBridges.org, this
book provides a discussion of the history of Chicago's movable bridges, and
includes a virtual tour discussing all movable bridges remaining in Chicago
today. Despite this broad coverage, the book is presented in a compact
format that is easy to take with you and carry around for reference on a
visit to Chicago. The book includes dozens of full color photos. Only $9.95 U.S!
($11.95 Canadian).
Order Now Direct From The Publisher! or order
on Amazon.

Chicago Loop Bridges - Chicago
Loop Bridges is another
website on the Internet that is a great companion to the HistoricBridges.org
coverage of the 18 movable bridges within the Chicago Loop. This website
includes additional information such as connections to popular culture,
overview discussions and essays about Chicago's movable bridges, additional
videos, and current news and events relating to the bridges.

Additional Online Articles and Resources - This
page is a large gathering of interesting articles and resources that HistoricBridges.org has uncovered during research, but which were not
specific to a particular bridge listing.

This bridge is tagged with the following special condition(s): Double-Deck

Photo Galleries and Videos: Michigan Avenue Bridge

A collection of overview photos that show the bridge as a whole and general areas of the bridge. This gallery offers photos in the highest available resolution and file size in a touch-friendly popup viewer. Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

Additional overview photos including from before the 2009 restoration was completed, views during St. Patricks Day with the green river, night views, and other special events. This gallery offers photos in the highest available resolution and file size in a touch-friendly popup viewer. Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

A collection of detail photos that document the parts, construction, and condition of the bridge. This gallery offers photos in the highest available resolution and file size in a touch-friendly popup viewer. Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

Photos of the plaques and bridgetender buildings including the bas relief sculptures. This gallery offers photos in the highest available resolution and file size in a touch-friendly popup viewer. Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

Photos taken in the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum. Photos showing the structural interior of the bridgetender building, as well as the interior electrical mechanical equipment for the bridge including gears, drive system, and trunnion. Also includes views looking out from the top level of the bridgetender building. This gallery offers photos in the highest available resolution and file size in a touch-friendly popup viewer. Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

A collection of overview photos that show the bridge as a whole and general areas of the bridge. This gallery features data-friendly, fast-loading photos in a touch-friendly popup viewer. Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

Additional overview photos including from before the 2009 restoration was completed, views during St. Patricks Day with the green river, night views, and other special events. This gallery features data-friendly, fast-loading photos in a touch-friendly popup viewer. Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

A collection of detail photos that document the parts, construction, and condition of the bridge. This gallery features data-friendly, fast-loading photos in a touch-friendly popup viewer. Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

Photos of the plaques and bridgetender buildings including the bas relief sculptures. This gallery features data-friendly, fast-loading photos in a touch-friendly popup viewer. Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

Photos taken in the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum. Photos showing the structural interior of the bridgetender building, as well as the interior electrical mechanical equipment for the bridge including gears, drive system, and trunnion. Also includes views looking out from the top level of the bridgetender building. This gallery features data-friendly, fast-loading photos in a touch-friendly popup viewer. Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

Note: The downloadable high quality version of this video (available on the video page) is well worth the download since it offers excellent 1080 HD detail and is vastly more impressive than the compressed streaming video. Streaming video of the bridge. Also includes a higher quality downloadable video for greater clarity or offline viewing.